Aed button fastening conpant



(No Model.)

J. MATI-IISON.

PRESSER FOOT OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES.- No. 380.656.

Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

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UNITED I STATES PATENT QFFICEO JOSEPH M ATHISON,

OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE STAND- ABD BUTTON FASTENING CONPANY.

PRESSER-FOOT-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0! Letters Patent No. 380,656, dated April 3, 1888.

Application filed February 23. 1986. Serial No. 192,797. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J osnrrr MArHIsoN, of Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Presser-Foot-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide improved means for operating a work-holding presser-foot, and particularly the presser-foot used in the machine for sewing on buttons for which Letters Patent of the United States, No. 268,369, were granted to me November 22, 1883, and the improved machine shown in my pending application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed September 24, 1885, Serial No. 17 8,084.

The invention consists in the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

The accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, represents a side elevation of a button-sewing machine provided with my improvements.

In the drawing, a represents a suitable supporting-framehavinganarrowelongatedworksupporting arm, B, preferably horizontal and of such size as to enable the upper of a boot or shoe to be drawn upon it and allow said upper a free movement laterally of the arm. Said arm B is hollow and contains a gum-cup, a vibratory thread-carrier, and suitable tension devices. Above the thread-carrier is a needleplate, D, forming a part of the upper surface of the arm B, and provided with a slot extend ing longitudinally of the arm to permit the needle to pass downwardly through the needle-plate and move longitudinally of the arm to feed the material while depressed.

E represents the neck or-arm supporting the needle, presser, and cast-off bars, and located over the work-supporting arm B. The needle-bar F and cast-0H bar G are directly supported in a carrier, H, which is adapted to reciprocate horizontally in guides or ways I I in the arm E, so as to enable the needle to feed the work,

j represents the presserbanand 7a the presser-foot attached thereto.

The work to which buttons are to be sewed is placed upon the arm B, and is held thereon by the presser-foot during the operation of attachingbuttons. For a description of the general construction and operation of the machine in attaching buttons, reference is made to my above-named pending application. The press er-bar j is alternately pressed downward and raised intermittently to permit the Work to be fed by the feed movements of the needle by means of a lever, A, pivoted at B to the neck E, a cam-groove, O, in a disk on the driving shaft B, said groove receiving a roller on the lever A and giving said lever an oscillating motion, a flexible arm or spring, D, constituting an extension of the lever A and bearing on the upper side of a stud, E, on the presser-bar, a lever, F, pivoted at B and bearing at one end against the under side of the stud E, and a screw, G, in a lug on the lever A, bearing on the lever F. WVhen the end of the lever A, having the screw G, is depressed,the screw depresses the corresponding end of the lever F and causes its other end to lift the presser-bar by the stud E. When the described motion of the lever A is reversed, its spring-continuation D forces the presserfoot downwardly upon the work with a yield ing pressure and allows the foot to accommodate itself to the thickness of the work, the flexibility of the spring or lever extension D preventing any material increase of friction between the cam-groove C and lever A when .the presser-foot is holding the work and enabling various thicknesses of work to be held, there being no material increase in the friction of said parts when the p'resser-foot is holding work of greaterthan the average thickness.

The lever 13" is not positively attached to the lever A, the screw G resting loosely on the lever Fl. Consequently the latter can be operated independently to raise the presserfoot by depressing its rear end whenever the operator desires To this end a rod, u is connected to the rear end of the lever F, said rod. being connected with a suitable treadle, (not shown,) so that the operator can use his foot in raising the presser-foot to insert and remove the work. By adjusting the screw G up or down the extent of upward movement given to the presserfoot by the action of the lever A on the lever F may be diminished or increased.

It is obvious that the above-described presser-foot-operating mechanism is not limited to machines for sewing on buttons, but may be applied to other sewing-machines.

I claim- 1. Thecombinatiomwith the presser-foot and its bar, of the lever A", having a flexible extension or spring bearing on a projection on the presser-bar and forcing the latter with a yielding pressure to the limit ofits downward movement, and connections with the drivingshaft for operating said lever, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the presser-foot and its bar, of the lever F adapted to bear against a projection on the presser-bar, the independently-movable lever A pivoted as described, and having a flexible extension or spring bearing against the said projection on the presser-bar, and a projection, as G arranged to act on the lever F, as set forth.

3. The combination, with the presser-foot and its bar having the projection E of the lever F adapted to bear against the lower side of said projection, and the independently-movable lever A, pivoted as described, and having the spring D bearing on the upper side of said projection, and the adjustable screw or stud G, whereby the lever F is operated to ,lift the presser-foot a distance governed by the adjustment of said screw, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of February, 1886.

JOSEPH MATHISON.

\Vitnesses:

O. F. BROWN, ARTHUR W. CRossLEY. 

